A molecular test can pinpoint which patients will have a very low
risk of death from breast cancer even 20 years after diagnosis and
tumor removal, according to a new clinical study led by UC San
Francisco in collaboration with colleagues in Sweden. As a result,
“ultralow” risk patients could be treated less aggressively and
overtreatment avoided, leading to fewer toxic effects. “This is an
important step forward for personalizing care for women with breast
cancer,” said lead author Laura J. Esserman, MD, MBA, a breast
cancer specialist and surgeon with UC Health. “We can now test
small node-negative breast cancers, and if they are in the ultralow
risk category, we can tell women that they are highly unlikely to
die of their cancers and do not need aggressive treatment,
including radiation after lumpectomy.” Oncologist have discussed
the existence of ultralow risk tumors and expressed concern that
they might be exacerbated by...